Electronic calendars or scheduling systems typically are designed to allow users to input various information about upcoming events scheduled by or for the user. For example, a user and/or a third party may enter information about an upcoming meeting that appears on the user's calendar and that the user is expected or invited to attend. As non-limiting examples, calendar programs of this type may allow a user (or a third party) to enter information concerning: (a) the meeting name; (b) the subject matter of the meeting; (c) the scheduled start time; (d) the scheduled end time; (e) the meeting date; (f) the meeting location; (g) the name of the meeting organizer or sponsor; (h) a list of invited attendees; (i) keynote speaker(s); (j) an agenda; (k) a schedule; (l) other personalized messages; and the like.
When attending meetings, many people like to, or are required to, take notes relating to the meeting. Typically, these notes are taken using conventional pen and paper. Such pen and paper notes, while helpful in some respects, are of limited usefulness. For example, unless the note-taker makes special efforts to carefully file the notes, pen and paper notes have a tendency to be lost, misfiled, misplaced, or destroyed. Additionally, it can be difficult and time-consuming to locate particular information in pen and paper notes because such notes can only be searched manually. Also, pen and paper notes typically are not available to others unless the note-taker makes a special effort to copy and distribute the notes to his/her colleagues.
Recently, electronic note taking systems have become more popular, such as in note-taking applications provided in stylus or pen-based computing systems, such as available in “tablet PCs.” Tablet PCs allow users to take electronic handwritten notes directly on a digitizing computer screen, and the computing system saves these notes in electronic form. Advantages of electronic notes in this form include the ability to easily save, file, and locate the notes; the ability to accurately and quickly electronically search and retrieve a desired set of relevant notes; the ability to quickly and accurately convert handwritten notes to machine-generated text form; the ability to use the notes in other applications (e.g., by pasting into an email document or a word processing document); and the ability to allow others easy access to the notes and/or their electronic counterparts.
While an improvement over conventional pen and paper notes, electronic notes also can suffer from drawbacks that limit their usefulness. For example, unless a user is a very thorough and careful note-taker, many meeting notes may omit certain information that can make it easier for the original note-taker, as well as others, to find a relevant set of notes or to find specific information within a relevant set of notes. An electronic note-taking system that automatically modified the electronic notes relating to a meeting to include certain core identifying information relating to that meeting may be very useful in cataloging notes, filing notes, and making notes more searchable and useful to both the original note-takers and to third parties that have access to the electronic notes.